KRISTINA REGINA — A Fitting Finnish Finish?

Kristina Cruises has announced today that its 1960-built MV KRISTINA REGINA (ex BORE) may be sold to a newly-formed Turku-based company, Oy S/S Borea Ab for use as a floating hotel and museum. The handsome twin funneled, 4,295 gt liner, which was originally steam powered, will be forced out of service this autumn due to strict new SOLAS regulations. According to Kalle Id, “a local newspaper in Turku, Finland reported today that the company, which was founded by Johnny Sid (who was also involved in the rescue attempt of the FINNJET) and hopes to moor the ship on the River Aura near the city center. Thus far, the city has not approved the plan but tentative interest has been shown.” Special thanks to Kalle Id.

Having documented over 400 passenger ships and taken more than 200 cruises, MaritimeMatters’ co-editor Peter Knego is a leading freelance cruise writer, a respected ocean liner historian and frequent maritime lecturer both on land and at sea. With his work regularly featured in cruise industry trades and consumer publications. Knego also runs the www.midshipcentury.com website which offers MidCentury cruise ship furniture, artwork and fittings rescued from the shipbreaking yards of Alang, India. He has produced several videos on the subject, including his latest, The Sands Of Alang and the best-selling On The Road To Alang."

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pknego

Having documented over 400 passenger ships and taken more than 200 cruises, MaritimeMatters’ co-editor Peter Knego is a leading freelance cruise writer, a respected ocean liner historian and frequent maritime lecturer both on land and at sea. With his work regularly featured in cruise industry trades and consumer publications. Knego also runs the www.midshipcentury.com website which offers MidCentury cruise ship furniture, artwork and fittings rescued from the shipbreaking yards of Alang, India. He has produced several videos on the subject, including his latest, The Sands Of Alang and the best-selling On The Road To Alang."

12 Comments

AveryJuly 29, 2010

I was just thinking of the old girl the other day, hoping she would end her days in just such a manner as this. She’s a perfect candidate for this sort of conversion and preservation. Here’s to hoping.

What a beautiful little ship – SOLAS makes me sick – when is the last time you have lost a friend at sea? We don’t have to worry about it anymore, our ships are gone. The only disasters are people getting drunk and falling off their balcony’s. The last passenger ship I worked on was the S.S.South American, my cabin was right over the engine room, the steady rhythm of her triple expansion steam engine put me to sleep many a night. There were 4 berths in the cabin. I had an upper and a steam pipe was above me no more then 12 inches, the insulation had broken and there was about 6in. of exposed pipe, I suffered a burn I won’t forget for awhile. A/C ? are you kidding. passengers had to share bathrooms at the end of the passageways. She had a steel hull (built 1914) and a wooden superstructure. She had to be taken out of service because of new Coast Guard regulations. The option was given that if we ceased operations the Delta Queen would have a fighting chance for a few more years, which proved correct.

Glenn-I couldn’t agree more. Beautiful ships like Kristina Regina, ships with real character and history are falling victim to a set of rules that seem to be largely superfluous. All serious accidents these days seem to happen either on ferries or cargo ships. The last serious incident to occur aboard a major cruise ship was a fire aboard a ship which conformed to SOLAS 2010-the Star Princess.

This is great news, now for once three liners from the 50s to 60s era (Bore, United States, and Kungsholm) have a chance! I hope they repaint her to look like she did while she was owned by the Bore Shipping Company.
PS Peter do you know if scrap work on Saga Rose has started yet?

Thankfully another charming small liner may be saved. Kristina Regina is a real ship – she looks the part, has sheer and camber and a storied past.
A fitting end to a seagoing career would grace whatever port winds up being her final home. Let’s hope and pray it happens.

An update on this: Turun Sanomat, one of the largest newspapers in Finland, as well as the Cruise Business Review website, reported two days ago that the sale of Kristina Regina to Oy S/S Borea Ab has been confirmed and apprently the city of Turku has granted the ship a permanent berth (though I’ve yet to read any confirmation from the actual city itself…). Kristina Regina will be restored to her original name BORE and the corn-hulled SS Co. Bore livery. If all goes to plan, she will be opened as a hotel, restaurant and museum in September this year.

Solas 2010 is not bogus. It actually does help, and ships can’t sail forever, lest they rot and sink. Thankfully we are sending some into preservation. But I agree…taking them out of service is sad. Hey! Saw the Queen Mary last week. She looked beautiful. Plus there were hundreds of tourists. She looks like shes doing well.

A True miniture Trans-Atlantic liner ! I sailed on a 4 day cruise to Leningrad (St Petersberg) and Tallinin (Estonia) she is truly a classic little ship. Much like that of the Canadian Pacific liner “princess patricia” or the Canadian National “prince george” Glad somebody say fit to save her .

If this is tue, it’s excellent news for a grand old lady of the seas. I got married on this wonderful ship in 2004 and the atmosphere was really special as was the crew too. I was fearful that she might end up in Alang!

I have been on 3 different cruises on Kristina Regina from Denmark to Norway and around the Baltic Sea and to Helsinki. It were wonderful tours with a wonderful staff and excellent food. I do hope, there will be a place for her in Turku.